Constantinople
Emperors
Byzantium 1
Byzantium 2
100
Constantinople was an ideal location for a capital city because it...
A) was landlocked, which made it easier to defend.
B) was located along a river, which made farming easier.
C) was surrounded by water on three sides, which made it easier to defend.
D) was an island, which made it easier to defend.
100
Which of these statements most accurately describes the power of the Byzantine emperors?
A) They had strong control over both economic and religious affairs.
B) They were weak rulers, controlled by the religious authorities.
C) They had strong political power, but lacked influence over religion.
D) They had little real power, with most authority in the hands of aristocrats.
100
During its height, the Byzantine Empire held land...
A) on three continents—North America, South America, and Europe
B) in Greece and the Middle East only
C) on three continents—Africa, Asia, and Europe
D) in Italy and Greece only
100
Which of the following code of laws was created in the Byzantine Empire and still has a wide impact today?
A) The Code of Constantine
B) Sharia Law
C) Justinian’s Code
D) missi dominici
200
Why was Constantinople able to command important trade routes in Europe and Asia?
A) Its location on the Atlantic Ocean
B) Its location on the Bosporus Strait, connecting Asia to the Mediterranean and Europe
C) Visitors’ high demand to see the chariot races in the Hippodrome
D) Its surplus of gold mined outside the city walls
200
What is the religion adopted by emperor Constantine? The religion that became the official religion of the Roman Empire.
A) Judaism
B) Islam
C) Christianity
D) Sikhism
200
Which of the following is a major contribution of the Byzantine Empire to global history?
A) construction of the Coliseum
B) expansion of equal rights
C) invention of writing
D) preservation of Greek and Roman culture
200
The Orthodox and Catholic Church...
A) worked closely with the Muslims to fight against invasions.
B) were united under the pope, who appointed the patriarch of Constantinople to rule as his representative.
C) formally split over religious issues in the 11th century but still worked together in the Crusades.
D) met in a series of council meetings to decide what parts of Europe would be Orthodox and what parts would be Catholic in order to avoid competition.
300
Who moved the capital of Rome from the west to Constantinople?
A) Justininan
B) Theodora
C) Constantine
D) Belisarius
300
What was one of Justinian's greatest accomplishments?
A) establishing plans to recreate the Byzantine army and navy.
B) the creation of trade routes between Asia and Europe.
C) creating a division of the church, known as the Great Schism.
D) preserving ancient Roman laws, that became known as Justinian’s Code.
300
Which did NOT lead to the eventual fall of the Byzantine Empire?
A) The failure of the Crusades in the Holy Land.
B) The rise of Islam across Europe.
C) The loss of the territories originally conquered by Justinian.
D) The Italian Merchants took over the Byzantine trading routes.
300
The Iconoclast Controversy was important because...
A) It set up rules of war the Byzantines had to follow.
B) It approved Justinian’s plan to build the Hagia Sophia.
C) It was one of the reasons the Christian Church split.
D) It gave Theodora the ability to control the empire in Justinian’s absence.
400
What was the impact of the 4th Crusade, when Crusaders controlled Constantinople for 57 years?
A) The Great Schism was healed.
B)The union of the Catholic and Orthodox Churches was enforced.
C) The Byzantine Empire lost its place as the dominant power in the region to Venice.
D) Muslims forces retreated and gathered forces before they could retake the city.
400
Why did the Byzantine Emperor Alexius I, ask for the help of Pope Urban II, in western Rome?
A) He wanted to unify the Christian church after the Great Schism.
B) Constantinople was short on manpower, and they needed men to build the Hagia Sophia.
C) He wanted to prevent his Empire from being overrun by Seljuk Turkish forces.
D) He wanted to show his dominance over Europe and Rome by making them supply an army to support him.
400
The Roman Empire had many similarities to the Byzantine Empire. Which of the following is an example of one of the similarities between the two empires?
A) Both spoke only Latin and had slaves.
B) Both spoke only Greek and worshiped the Greek gods.
C) Both converted to Islam in the 6th century and spoke Arabic.
D) Both used Roman laws and saw themselves as Romans.
400
Who is the Patriarch?
A) The leader of the Roman Catholic Church
B) Another name for the pope
C) A real spiritual dude
D) The leader of the Eastern Orthodox Church
500
This building used to be called the Cathedral of Hagia Sophia but in 1453, the process began to change the building to how it appears in this photo from present-day Istanbul. The most notable change was the addition of minarets on each corner of the building. Why might these changes have taken place?
A) The new owners of the city did not like the architecture of the building.
B) The minarets served as a central storage facility for extra grain produced in the area around the city.
C) The minarets provided archers a good view of the surrounding area in order to attack invaders.
D) The Ottoman Turks were of a different religion and wanted the building to reflect their religious beliefs.
500
Why is Theodora considered to be the most powerful Empress in Roman history?
A) She became Empress when her father died and ruled alone for over 20 years.
B) Although she had worked as an actress, she married Justinian and the two ruled the empire together as co-rulers.
C) She bribed and manipulated her way through the ranks of government until she became Empress.
D) She bribed the military, poisoned her husband, and took control of the empire after his death.
500
How were the Byzantine Empire and Western Roman Empire, different?
A) The old Roman Empire had a patriarch, while the Byzantine Empire had a pope.
B) The capital had moved to Constantinople and the Byzantines were Orthodox Christian.
C) The Byzantines rejected Christianity and converted to Islam, while the old Roman Empire was Roman Catholic.
D) The old Roman Empire controlled trade routes, while the Byzantine Empire’s economy was based entirely upon farming.
500
Which group was NOT responsible for weakening the Byzantine Empire through invasion?
A) the Crusaders
B) The Ottoman Turks
C) The Kingdom of Mali
D) The Seljuk Turks